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Archive for April 11th, 2008

At the public Masses on April 17th and 20th, Pope Benedict XVI will bless the religious articles (rosaries, medals, crucifixes, etc.) that those attending the Mass have brought for his blessing.

The Holy Father will bless some additional objects as well. At Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., he will bless the new cornerstone and tabernacle of Pope John Paul II High School in Arlington, Virginia.

At Yankees Stadium in the Bronx, the Holy Father will bless a cornerstone for the bicentennial garden of the Cathedral of Saint Patrick and a crucifix for the chapel of Saint John Neumann Seminary residence.

On April 19, Pope Benedict will celebrate Mass with priests, deacons, and men and women in consecrated life at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York.

Located in the heart of midtown Manhattan (at Fifth Avenue and 50th Street), the construction of the Cathedral began in 1858 with the laying of the cornerstone. Though construction was suspended during the Civil War, it resumed in 1865. The Cathedral was dedicated in 1879. Construction continued in the following years with the addition of the spires, the Lady Chapel, and the organ.

The present Cathedral replaced “Old Saint Patrick’s”, the earlier cathedral begun in 1809, shortly after New York was established as an archdiocese.

Many of the past archbishops of New York are entombed in the crypt beneath Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. In 1990, the body of the Venerable Pierre Toussaint was exhumed and reburied in the crypt. At the Youth Event later on April 19, Pope Benedict will receive a portrait of Pierre Toussaint (and other saints, blessed, and venerables who have lived or served in New York).